The Wildcats actually rallied from 17 points down to tie the game and muzzle the Kinnick Stadium crowd. But that's just the fine print.

The big picture is that NU's defense again disappeared down the stretch, allowing Iowa (4-2, 1-1 Big Ten) to complete three touchdown drives in crunch time and stroll off with a 41-31 victory.

After entering 5-1 against Iowa since 2005, the Wildcats hoped history would repeat.

But a different kind did. The Wildcats (2-4, 0-3) have been dreadful in the fourth quarter this season, and they imploded Saturday night in the game's final 15-plus minutes to lose their fourth straight.

"It hurts," said Jeremy Ebert, who caught a career-high 13 passes and helped his team convert 16 of 22 third downs. "Big game, big atmosphere, big stage — we expect to perform and come up with a win."

The struggling Wildcats have no excuses: Their injury report barely requires ink, and 12 of their starters are seniors.

One of those, Dan Persa, had a different type of senior moment to end NU's first drive.

On first-and-goal from the Iowa 7, Persa scrambled to keep a play alive. With Broderick Binns clutching his legs and another defender bearing down, Persa floated a pass that safety Tanner Miller caught and ran back 98 yards for a score.

Just like that, Northwestern was down 10-0.

The Wildcats rallied thanks to big-time playmaking from Kain Colter, who expertly ran the option (76 rushing yards) and also hauled in six passes for 71 yards. Colter flipped to Adonis Smith for a 4-yard touchdown that cut Iowa's lead to 17-14 and Jeff Budzien drained a career-long 47-yard field goal to tie it up late in the third quarter.

But then Northwestern, which entered with the Big Ten's worst total defense, could not make a stop.

McNutt was so open he could have tipped the pass to himself a dozen times and still scored.

"You have guys coming off the field saying: 'I'm playing this concept, (he's) playing that concept,'" coach Pat Fitzgerald said. "When those breakdowns in communication have happened this year, they have been disastrous. It starts with us as coaches. Why are they confused?"

Cornerback Demetrius Dugar said that on certain plays, called-out "checks" left defensive backs unsure whether to play zone or man coverage.

"Right now we are facing a storm," Colter said, relaying Fitzgerald's message to the team. "We can turn around and go back or keep pushing on. At this point, we make a choice whether we want to be great or just win a couple of games here or there."